Union backs Strouse for Congress in Pa. 8th
Army veteran Kevin Strouse received a labor endorsement Thursday in the Democratic primary for U.S. House in the 8th District of Pennsylvania. Rival Shaugnessy Naughton, a small business owner, has been backed by the Women's Campaign fund and a PAC that supports women under 40 for elected office.
The postal workers' union, Local 7048 of the APWU, gave its support to Army Ranger veteran Kevin Strouse Thursday in the competitive Democratic primary for U.S. House in the Bucks-based 8th District.
"I believe Kevin Strouse has what it takes to get this job done," said Vince Tarducci, president of Local 7048, which has 450 members. "We are proud to be the first labor organization to endorse his candidacy," Tarducci said.
National party leaders, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, are backing Strouse for the seat, now held by GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. But Strouse faces Shaugnessy Naughton, owner of a printing business in the district, in the Democratic primary.
A combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, Strouse, originally from Delaware County, moved into the district to run for Congress.
"Protecting local jobs and helping our middle class families and seniors are the reasons I'm running for Congress," Strouse said in a statement. "I am proud to receive APWU's support."
Naughton recently received endorsements from two groups aimed at increasing the number of women elected officials at all levels of government: the Women's Campaign Fund and the Women Under Forty PAC.
"I'm proud to have the endorsements of these two influential organizations," Naughton said in a statement. "I have been horrified by the political battle raging in Washington, D.C. over basic health care and the economic needs of women and families. It's dumbfounding to watch Congress continually try to turn back the clock on women's rights or say 'no' to common sense economic policies like equal pay for equal work."